I rode with Kate for an hour before meeting with Brian and Beth at a small grocery store in the town of Phillipsville. According to the sign that marks the start of Phillipsville the population of the town is 250. Having spent nearly an hour in the town I would hazard a guess that 200 of those spend a good proportion of the day drunk. In the grocery store we stocked up on supplies and bought coffees and drank them outside in the welcome morning sun. We took our time, I don't think anybody was really in the mood to ride today. We watched the town's people come and go. A lady walked her cat up and down the street on a leash. Numerous other misfits came and went as we watched with amusement.
A little while later we were approached by a man dressed in a fur-lined waistcoat with no shirt underneath. He wore a cowboy hat and a long grey ponytail. He told us people called him Gnarr. If you saw him in a movie you would think he was a slightly unbelievable character – a little too clichéd for a town weirdo. He'd had a fight with his woman. I expect this happens most mornings. He told us we were cycling through 'God's country'. As he told us this he thumped his heart and looked as if he was holding back a tear. This could have gone on for some time so we made our excuses and left.
Rolling out of town at least Gnarr's pride in his local landscape rang true. We were riding alongside a large valley cut by the Eel River. Lining the mostly dry riverbed were steep hills lined with redwoods. It was quite spectacular.
An hour later we stopped for lunch outside a supermarket in Garbersville. A larger town but with a similar proportion of local characters. One of the supermarket staff offered to sell Brian some weed. We discussed our disappointment so far with California. Every town so far has been full of poverty and drunks, leaving us feeling a little uneasy.
The afternoon was mostly freeway riding, another disappointing aspect of California so far. Kate and I took a break from the freeway for a while on a much quieter back road. We stopped to check a map and were approached by a collarless dog. It looked like a Staffordshire Bull Terrier crossed with something a bit bigger. It seemed friendly enough but a little skittish. I thought I'd managed to befriend it as it had a little lick of my leg. It soon became apparent it was less a lick and more a preliminary tasting. We cycled off and it gave chase. It barked incessantly and looked like it was lining itself up to take a bit out of my leg. I weighed up my options. I though if I kicked it I would be pretty much putting my bare leg inside its mouth. Also if it was just playing then I may anger it. I decided to make a break for it. I pedalled hard, it kept up for a while and then dropped back. It's difficult to outrun a fit young dog on a loaded bike. Kate was behind me and I was worried by sprinting off I was leaving her as dog food. Luckily it was only interested in me and we made a clean getaway. It was a great introduction to being chased by a dog and reminded me of another danger that will face me in Mexico.
The ride ended at Standish-Hickey State Park. A fairly mediocre park with little get excited about. As we set up our tents a lady started chatting to Kate. She told Kate about a place she must visit further down the coast. It was a spa resort with saunas and hot-tubs. She casually dropped into conversation that it was all 'clothing-optional'. As she said this I was blowing up my inflatable mattress. I inflated the whole thing with laughter as I listened to Kate feigning interest and trying to sound genuinely like she would pay a visit. Many of the crowd at this state park seemed to be descendants of the 'Summer of Love'. I didn't like the look of them, I was worried some of them may want to stay up past 9pm.
Unusually the park was opposite a shop. Generally once camped your nearest opportunity to buy food or drink is at best 10 miles away. It seemed like a good excuse to get some beers. The shop was pretty great but very expensive. $3.50 for a can of baked beans! I bought some spaghetti hoops and a couple of beers.
Dinner was fantastic. I had instant mash with my spaghetti hoops and beer to wash it down. I've really been living it up recently.
Tomorrow we climb from our current elevation of 900 feet to 2,000 feet. This is the highest climb of the Pacific Coast route in the US. Perhaps foolishly I'm not too concerned about it. I have found the hills fairly easy recently, sometimes I feel I could keep climbing all day. I am actually quite looking forward to the view.
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